While a majority – about 60 percent – of the more than 21,000 Consumer Reports subscribers polled said they shopped a home improvement center like Lowe’s or Home Depot for majaps, independents scored high marks for service, knowledgeable sales staffs, ease of checkout, and post-sale support.

Negatives for this class of trade included a limited selection and higher retail prices.

Earning most-favored retailer status once again was Abt Electronics, which was cited for its superb selection, free delivery within 100 miles of its lone, 100,000-square-foot Chicago-area store, and high grades across the board.

Nebraska ranked fourth – after third-place Costco and the overall independent channel, which came in at No. 2 – for its selection, product quality, competitive prices, and, to a lesser extent, ease of checkout.

Rounding out the Top 11 in descending order were:

*Lowe’s, the nation’s largest majap seller, according to TWICE;

*Pacific Sales, the 29-store appliance and plumbing subsidiary of Best Buy;

*Long Island’s own P.C. Richard & Son;

*No. 1 home improvement chain The Home Depot;

*Best Buy;

*hhgregg, and;

*Sears

The retail results, published regularly by Consumer Reports, have remained relatively consistent in recent years across both majaps and CE, although the latter category tends to favor Amazon and other online-only merchants in addition to independents.